Post 314 - special, isn't it!

The lovely MMMC tagged me for a Versatile Blogger Award yesterday. I'm not usually too good at these things - always having the best of intentions, but rarely remembering to follow through. But it's miserable and rainy and we're all on holidays, so hey, I've remembered!

You HAVE to read her entry about driving a car down a set of stairs. I was in stitches.

MMMC has been blogging a few months and has done 200 posts. I've been blogging for years and this is number 314. That's how amazingly prolific she is. But the quality is excellent. A laugh here, a bit of educational content about Danish design there... it's something I look forward to reading every day.  I thought that maybe one day I'd see her on Oprah, talking about her blog.Of course, now that Oprah's only on for one more year, if she doesn't make it to the Oprah House we might have to settle for Kerrianne. Or The Circle. That'll do.

She says I have to list Seven Evil Things you don't know about me. I think she's using some creative license - I'm pretty sure they didn't HAVE to be evil... not that I'm baulking at evil... 'cause there's nothing wrong with that MMMC... but here goes...

1. My favourite illustrator in the whole world is Quentin Blake. His website is fabulous and these two videos of him working are brilliant. And I've just found out he's done wallpaper. Makes me sort of tingle. I'm going to have to earn some dosh and build a wall so I can paper it.

2. In Year 12, I could do the most sit-ups in a minute of all the girls (and most of the boys) in my class. Now, after 5 caesarians, I can barely do one. Actually, I just got on the ground and tried, and I can't do even one. Hmmmm.

3. I can't drive past an empty shopfront without trying to figure out the sort of business that would work there. And whether I should do it. Of course, the fact that I have 4 young children usually puts the kybosh on any grandiose plans of business empires. So the flesh is weak, but the mind is free!

4. I dream of having story about my art in Country Style magazine. But need to lose the weight first. It's literally a weight around my neck (and thighs and tummy and chin). I'm sick of it, but haven't managed to coordinate my desire for weight loss with an ability to stop stuffing food in my mouth while I rush from one task to the next. Probably contributes to point 2.

5. I did 6 parachute jumps in 1993, and honestly thought that it was something I could be good at. But then I travelled for a year and lost my nerve. Also, the thought of me in an jumpsuit... see point 2 again.

6. Sometimes having kids drives me crazy. I wouldn't swap them for the world, but it's often a lot harder than what you'll ever see on my blog. Sometimes my husband also drives me crazy. I just don't write about that stuff much.

7. Blogging keeps me sane. The night I read someone's blog entry about how they stayed up the night before a wedding and made a jacket from an Ottobre pattern, complete with mistakes, meltdowns and cursing ... but simply had to do it... I felt like I'd found my tribe. People who like having birthday parties at home, making things for their friends, and showing their love through cooking for friends and family... and doing it all creatively, but not necessarily perfectly... yep, these are my people. Thank God.

An 8th thing could be that I never pass on chain emails. OK, perhaps once in a very blue moon, if it's EXTREMELY funny. But never if it says something bad may happen, or that you have to send it to six people, etc. It's nothing personal, and I don't mind being sent them, it's just a policy that works for me. Plus, I start thinking who the seven people may be, and then I get distracted. So I may never be tagged for anything like this again, but MMMC I was honoured and it was fun to play!

So thanks for listening. We'll resume normal programming tomorrow. Or the next day. There'll definitely be some animation happening on Friday anyway! Loving school holidays.

Show and tell

I was going to save this for Thursday's Creative Space, but I just can't keep it to myself.

It's my 'new' desk  - so that I don't have to keep moving my laptop and paperwork on and off the dinner table (I do have a perfectly good desk in our office - but it's too far away from little children).

Here's the before... (a handmedown from a friend, that was previously used as a child's desk) ...

And, wait for it ...................... here's the AFTER!

Before you ask, it's covered in fabric that I had in my stash. I had about 3 metres, and think I bought it in the first place simply because I loved the pattern.

I painted each surface with glue and cut and stretched the fabric onto it, added new knobs and a perspex top ($70 - now that was a surprise :( ) and stretched and stapled the red fabric onto the back to give the piece more weight.  It looks great next to the red rug in my 'grown ups corner'. And it was SO much quicker and easier than sanding, priming and painting!

My top tips for gluing fabric on furniture (can you tell I'm also loving Masterchef?) -

1. Paint glue over the whole surface. I started with Aquadhere, then ran out, so finished with 'Weldbond'. I mixed both with a little water as I brushed it on to make sure the whole surface was covered.
2. Cut enough fabric so you cover the whole piece, and then you can cover those rough edges with ribbon or some sort of trim. I've got a few bare bits hidden (but I'm not going to show you!).
3. Use a patterned fabric (at least for your first go). This will disguise any unplanned or unavoidable lumps and bumps, which is bound to happen with an old piece of furniture.

I love LOVE LOVE it, and it's going to help me be more organised and pay the bills on time (instead of putting them on my office desk and never going in there again). And when my kids are bigger and I actually use my office properly again, it'll make a marvellous dressing table.

And here are some gratuitous 'try-hard-stylist' photos.

My gorgeous paintings are by the very talented Nic Hohn. I have a collection of "Hohn's" actually. Must blog about that one day. (Wouldn't it be nice with one of those 'navy' designer chairs...)

Yep. Love it. Thanks for coming.

PS. I forgot to mention that I was inspired by a completely upholstered chest of drawers I saw in a shop window in Paddington (Brisbane) last weekend - it was an impressive piece of furniture - with a $2995 price tag! Makes the perspex price seem quite reasonable...

(And sorry I haven't supplied the Black Forest Pikelet recipe yet - it's not yummy enough. I'll keep working on it.)

Some words I love

Today was the last day of the holidays and I FINALLY put this ikea cabinet together - and this is just before the drawers went in. And no, I didn't put the apples there. There are secretive, apple-depositing fairies in our house. (There are also lots of messy fairies living here too.)

Off on another tangent now... for about 5 years in the 90's I took a monthly calligraphy class with the fabulous Olive Bull. Olive is now a fairly regular tutor at the McGregor Summer School here in Toowoomba.

They were wonderful Sundays, full of paper and ink and delicious discussions about gouache and gum arabic. I was at calligraphy the day Princess Diana died. It was a great time of my life.

I'm not practicing calligraphy at the moment because you need space, and quality stretches of time, to get the rhythm going, to make sure, true strokes. You need clean hands and a clear mind. This sort of time is simply not happening for me at the moment, but I know calligraphy is definitely a skill I want to re-invigorate at a later date.

This is one of the poems that I "calligraphied" a long time ago. Even my husband remembers it, and I love being reminded of it from time to time. My massive pile of folding at the moment, and the fact that I don't mind finding apples on and in the furniture is probably evidence that we are managing to keep our hands busy with the important things...

MY HANDS WERE BUSY

My hands were busy through the day.
I didn’t have much time to play.
The little games you asked to do,
I didn’t have much time for you.

I’d wash your clothes. I’d sew and cook.
You’d ask and I’d read from your book.
I’d tuck you in all safe at night,
And hear your prayers; turn out the light.

Then tiptoe softly by your door,
I wish I’d stayed a minute more.

For life was short, the years rushed past,
A little boy grows up so fast.
No longer is he at my side,
His precious secrets to confide.
The picture books are put away.
There are no longer games to play.

No Teddy Bears or misplaced toys
No sleepovers with lots of boys.
No goodnight kiss, no prayers to hear.
That all belongs to yesteryear.

My hands, once busy, now are still.
The days are long and hard to fill.
I wish I could go back and do
The little things you asked me to do.

Anonymous

PS. Go here to see how your website looks on the new ipad.

PPS. Go here to my son's website if you have kids of about 10 or so that might like to try a movie quotes quiz.

Five Faves

It's been a pretty productive and 'familyish' weekend at home, so thought I'd join in with Pip's Five Faves this week.

1. Sewing Cushions for me - I bought this craft panel from Aunty Cookie last week and just had to make it up (trying another easy zip method from this Design Sponge tutorial) into this denim backed number. I love it alongside my Anna Maria Horner homemade cushions.

 

2. Making Cushions for my kids - they get so excited, and honestly, there were no sewing mountains climbed here.

Firstly, this one from a Canteen bandanna for my boy who loves yellow (and I'd promised it for his October birthday, last year!).

Then these two Dora cushions made from the cover on the old kids fold out lounge. The foam had had it, but the cover was the real favourite. I just stuffed them like toys and she was ecstatic.

 

And this one for my boy who loves typical-boy-bottom-humor - and I got to recycle some of his old jeans. It was a big hit.

3. Baking - tried the very 'American sounding' recipe for Graham crackers today from this recipe here - liked making them, and am sure my attachment to trying them is because I've always heard of 'smores' and I think that's what they're used for - but they're not quite it for me (I'm happy to say that the kids still liked them and there's just enough left to send some to school tomorrow).

4. Little 'Lemonade' Stands - where a jug of water and a few cups mean hours of imaginative fun.

5. Handmedown toys from the boys to the girls - this dolls house was originally built by my father-in-law for my step daughter - who is now 22, and when it was passed down to the boys I painted the rooms and painted on some furniture ('real' furniture always got in the way of the dinosaurs). Today we got it out and cleaned it up for the girls, and I'm looking forward to seeing the next incarnation of play. It's been a huge success with S already.

And as an extra bonus I even went and saw Avatar this weekend, which I did enjoy, which was a pleasant surprise because I'm not a sci fi sort of person. And it was a lovely 3 hours of by-myself time, hidden behind 3D glasses. No complaints there.

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

One movie NOT to see

Life is too short to waste on movies like "Death at a Funeral". So there, I've just given you an extra hour or so to do something you actually will enjoy. It's not often that I'm this bossy, but honestly, I insist. DO NOT go and see this movie.